Douluo Continent. The northern border of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Tonight's snowy wind carried sorrow and was especially bitter.
It came from a small house built in a place called Destitution Valley.
Inside were a little boy and a married couple nearing thirty.
The couple lay gravely wounded on the floor, near death, as though they might breathe their last at any moment.
The boy knelt beside them, crying anxiously:
"Waaah, Dad, Mom, hold on! I'll go find a healing-type Soul Master right now!"
His mother shook her head, forcing a smile with what strength she had left:
"Xiao Han, it's no use. It's already too late."
"Mommy's sorry. I won't be able to stay with you as you grow up."
"There are still some Gold Soul Coins at home, enough to last you the rest of your life."
"When Mommy's gone, you must take good care of yourself."
"Don't be a picky eater anymore. Eat on time and grow up quickly."
"No matter what happens from now on, never give up on living."
As she spoke, tears welled in his mother's eyes, and her voice trembled with sobs:
"Mommy still has so, so much to tell you, but I'm not going to last much longer."
"One last thing. Promise Mommy you won't live with hatred, and you won't awaken your Martial Soul."
"Remember, you must never think of awakening your Martial Soul to take revenge. You absolutely, absolutely must not do that."
The boy was already sobbing too hard to speak clearly, yet he nodded firmly again and again:
"Yes! Mom, I promise! I promise you everything! Please, just stay alive!"
Hearing the boy's firm answer, his mother smiled in relief.
With regret and reluctance to leave, she breathed her last.
"Ah! Mom! Waaah!"
The boy saw that all life had left his mother.
He broke down, throwing himself onto her and wailing in anguish.
But he soon remembered something and hurriedly turned toward his father, sobbing:
"Dad, you're stronger than Mom! You can hold on, right? I don't want you to go! Waaah!"
His father raised his hand with difficulty, wiping away the boy's tears as he barely managed to tug up the corners of his mouth:
"Xiao Han, don't cry. Have you forgotten our promise...?"
"When we men say goodbye, we don't shed tears."
"Dad has to go keep Mom company. You must remember what she told you."
"You must never awaken your Martial Soul, much less think of taking revenge for Mom and Dad."
After using all his strength to say those last few sentences, his father could hold on no longer.
The large hand wiping the boy's tears abruptly fell, and every trace of life left him.
"Dad! No-!!!"
The boy let out a heart-rending scream and fainted from overwhelming grief.
His name was Ye Han, and six years earlier, he had been struck and killed by a dump truck.
He had reincarnated on Douluo Continent, becoming this couple's child.
Both of them had come from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and possessed pure bloodlines.
Seven years earlier, while traveling to gain experience, they had accidentally overheard Tang Hao and Tang Xiao talking and learned that Ah Yin was a Soul Beast.
After Tang Hao and Tang Xiao discovered them, they promised not to tell anyone, but the Tang brothers still hunted them down to silence them.
The two fled all the way back to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and had no choice but to explain what had happened, hoping to seek the clan's protection.
After learning the situation, however, the clan did not want to offend the Clear Sky Twin Stars, whose fame resounded across the continent, and heartlessly expelled them.
Forced to keep fleeing, they ran all the way to the empire's northern border before temporarily escaping pursuit, and there they gave birth to Ye Han.
His surname was Ye rather than Yu partly because his parents hated the clan for abandoning them, and partly to conceal their identities.
Their repeated insistence just now that Ye Han must not awaken his Martial Soul had been precisely to keep his identity hidden from the world.
Back then, word that Tang Hao had fallen in love with a Soul Beast spread everywhere, and Qian Xunji led men in pursuit of Tang Hao and Ah Yin.
After Ah Yin sacrificed herself, Tang Hao blamed everything on them and spent years searching for them like a madman.
Today, Tang Hao had finally found them and left after beating them to the brink of death. They had hidden Ye Han in the basement, allowing him to escape disaster; otherwise, he too would now have been a departed soul beneath Tang Hao's hammer.
Late that night, Ye Han regained consciousness.
Using a cart, he settled his father and mother in an ice cave.
Ye Han knelt before his parents' bodies, his gaze resolute as he knocked his forehead against the ground and said:
"Dad, Mom, forgive your son for being unable to keep the promises I made to you!"
"The murderer of my father and mother cannot share the same sky with me! I, Ye Han, swear I will avenge this!"
"Whether it's Tang Hao, who killed you with his own hands, or his accomplice Tang Xiao!"
"Or even the Clear Sky Sect, or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan that abandoned you!"
"Every last one of them will pay for this! I'll make them repay their blood debt in blood! I'll make their lives worse than death!"
After saying this, Ye Han slowly stood, his eyes filled with unwavering resolve.
"Dad, Mom, watch me from heaven!"
"Not only will I avenge you, I'll bring you back to life!"
"Wait for me. No matter how much hardship and difficulty the process holds, I'll do it!"
"If bringing you back means becoming a god, then I'll strive toward godhood!"
"If a First-Level God isn't enough, then a God King! If a God King isn't enough, then beyond a God King!"
"Whatever the protagonists of other Douluo fanfictions can do, I, Ye Han, can certainly do too!"
Then Ye Han sealed the cave entrance and returned to Destitution Valley.
Cold wind blew through Destitution Valley.
The wind was biting as frost, yet it could not scatter the fury in his heart.
Ye Han's gaze locked firmly on the direction Tang Hao had left earlier.
His heart brimmed with towering hatred. Clenching both fists, he bellowed in a low voice:
"For what happened today, repay a hundredfold-hear the dragon roar!!!"
The instant his words fell, a wisp of divine sense shot down from the heavens.
That wisp of divine sense silently flowed into Ye Han's mind.
Ye Han noticed nothing and began considering his next move.
I probably won't have anything like a system.
I've been here six years. If I had a system, it should have arrived long ago.
But having no system doesn't mean I can't take revenge on Tang Hao.
I know the original plot like the back of my hand. How could I fail to handle that useless dog Tang Hao?
Wasn't Tang Hao only able to turn things around because of that hypocritical, double-standard thief of a son?
As long as I snatch all his son Tang San's opportunities ahead of time, killing him will only be a matter of time.
Judging by the timeline, I'm a year younger than Tang San.
Tang San is seven now. It's only been a year since he took Yu Great Shit as his master.
No matter what, it won't go to Sunset Forest until six years from now.
These six years will be more than enough for me to snatch its opportunities and resources.
Especially those immortal herbs. A large part of why all the Shrek Seven Devils became gods was those immortal herbs.
Both my parents' Martial Souls were Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons, so mine will definitely be a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon too.
I know how to help Dugu Bo and his granddaughter detoxify their poison. Trading that for an immortal herb shouldn't be difficult.
After taking an immortal herb, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul will have a very high chance of evolving into a higher-grade Martial Soul.
Then I'll join Spirit Hall and develop with its support. How could I fail to cripple Tang Hao and Tang San?
Originally, I had no intention of becoming enemies with that little bastard Tang San. After all, it had never provoked me.
But since it's now the son of my parents' murderer, it can wait to bear my fury!
At that thought, Ye Han quickly entered the house to pack his belongings.
He had now reached the age to awaken his Martial Soul. It was time to do so.
But he absolutely could not awaken it nearby. The safest choice was to head to Spirit City for the awakening.
Not only did Spirit City offer free Martial Soul awakenings all day, Tang Hao would never go there. It was both the first choice and the only choice.
After awakening his Martial Soul, he would join Spirit Hall directly. Perhaps he could even seek its protection.
By the time his thoughts reached this point, Ye Han had finished packing what he needed. Without hesitation, he left and set out for Spirit Hall.
(End of chapter)